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I am not a doctor. I am a man who was suffering from low testosterone production. I have decided to share my story in this way with the hopes that it may help other men who might be going through some of the same things I was. If you believe that your testosterone might be low, please consider contacting a professional who can do the appropriate testing and treatment.

I am a 42-year old man, husband and father of 4 children. Approximately 8 years ago I started to feel “off.” It started off with very slow, almost imperceptible changes in how I felt and it gradually became worse. I was very easily winded (even tying my shoes became a huge chore). I had no energy or motivation to do anything. I got dizzy if I stood up too quickly. I started to gain weight without any real change in my diet. I had always been a very sexual person throughout my whole adult life and when I no longer had early morning erections, I knew something was wrong. My libido was pretty much non-existent.

I went to see a specialist (an Endocrinologist) who did a battery of tests and eventually found that I had very low testosterone levels. Testosterone levels taper off as men age but mine were much lower than they should have been for my age. The doctor told me that I had a condition called pituitary hypogonadism. This condition basically causes one’s testosterone production to slow way down or even stop completely. The doctor prescribed testosterone shots every two weeks.

After my first shot, I felt much better. My energy came back, I started losing weight, my erections and libido returned in earnest. That was it! That was the answer. It just made so much sense. I was low on testosterone, so I needed to supplement testosterone right? Wrong! Let me explain further.

I stayed on testosterone for many years. I did shots (two different types of testosterone esters), creams, patches and gels. I’ve tried them all. All in all I felt better than before the HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) but I started to develop another issue. This one, I wasn’t able to detect on my own. There were no side effects like getting tired or not wanting to have sex. The doctor who was treating me for the low testosterone did periodic blood tests to check on my overall health and testosterone levels. He noticed that my hematocrit level began to rise. Hematocrit is a measurement of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. I started to develop the opposite problem of someone with anemia. I had too many red blood cells – a condition called Polycythemia Vera. Polycythemia is potentially life threatening. Too many red blood cells make your blood particularly thick. Some professional athletes (particularly distance runners) take supplements in an effort to increase the number of red blood cells in their bodies. Red blood cells transport oxygen to our muscles so in theory, the more red blood cells you have, the more oxygen you make available to your body. This translates to better and more efficient athletic performance and quicker recovery. However, as in my case, there IS a point at which it’s too much of a good thing.

The downside of an increased number of red blood cells – thicker blood means my heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout my body. That “extra work” I’m asking my heart to do could lead to a heart attack. Also, thicker blood will clot easier and more effectively. This could lead to stroke, a pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, etc. Basically, it’s not good.

I went to yet another doctor (this one a Hematologist/Oncologist). The treatment for high hematocrit (too many red blood cells) is to do a phlebotomy (remove some blood). Basically, they just take off a pint of blood. When they remove a pint of the “thick blood” my body will make new blood to replace the pint they took. The hope is that my body can’t produce the red blood cells as fast as the doctor can remove them. It’s just like donating blood. This blood-letting needed to happen a couple of times per month until the levels of red blood cells cane down to an acceptable or “safe” level.

I was in a catch-22. I needed the testosterone to feel normal and like a man, but every time I took my shot, I needed to run to the blood bank to bleed-out a pint and eat a cookie! I did this cycle for several years and it sucked!

Fast-forward a few years. My wife saw an infomercial and they were talking about Acai berry – using it to detox, cleanse and lose weight. My wife was trying to lose the last few pounds she had gained while pregnant with our newest son. She wanted to give Acai a try. She and I both went online and got one of those offers for a one-month test. I figured if she was going to try it, I might as well try it as well. I had a few pounds to lose myself so I figured it couldn’t hurt.

I started taking the pills as directed. After a few days I noticed that I wasn’t as hungry as I usually was. I would load up a plate of food at dinner and then only finish half of it (which is NOT normal for me). The only other thing I noticed was that my morning “eliminations” became almost effortless. I don’t want to go into too much detail here but just… um… there was no need for reading material in the head anymore – I was in and out in no time! Other than that, I didn’t really notice much. I don’t think I lost any appreciable weight but I was also working out a lot and building muscle so it was hard to say based on just weighing myself. I never had my body fat measured (something I should have done). My wife actually DID lose weight (about 8 pounds in 3 months or so) but that’s not the point of this post.

After about a month on the Acai pills, I was back at the blood doctor for my check-up. He did a blood test and found that my red blood cell count was low! My doctor assumed that I had stopped taking the testosterone because he believed that it was the testosterone that was making my body produce the extra red blood cells. I told him that I was still on the testosterone. I couldn’t think of anything else that I was doing different. I made another appointment for a month later.

It wasn’t until I got home later that night that I remembered that I had been taking the Acai pills. I wondered if maybe the pills had something to do with the change in my blood profile. I wasn’t doing anything else different so it made sense to me. I tried looking it up online and found NOTHING regarding a correlation between Acai and red blood cells. I had no way to prove my theory but my position was this: I was feeling great and my blood profile was PERFECT so why change anything right? I ordered another bottle of Acai pills and continued to take them religiously. Just an interesting note – My wife actually stopped taking the Acai pills. She said that they gave her headaches. I really don’t think that Acai caused her headaches but I figured it was at least worth mentioning here.

I met with my Endocrinologist about 3 weeks after that. This time, my levels of testosterone were HIGH! I was at about twice the level of a 25 year old man and I was 39!

During my hormone replacement treatment, my testosterone levels would fluctuate up and down. The level would be higher if I had recently taken my shot and lower if it had been a while since my last shot.

The doctor asked me if I was taking more of the testosterone than he had prescribed. I told him no. I tried to talk to him about the Acai but he didn’t want to hear it. He dismissed it as a “useless herb.” He lectured me about the dangers of taking steroids to excess. I told him that I was taking the exact amount that he prescribed. I made another appointment to see him a month later.

All of the research of Acai that I could find online was focused on the weight loss and cleansing components of Acai supplementation. There was nothing about any correlation between Acai and testosterone production.

The next time I saw my Endocrinologist, he did a test and my level of testosterone should have been VERY low (in the 200’s). It was not! In fact, it was high-normal (517 ng/dl). My doctor has no explanation but refuses to acknowledge that the Acai has anything to do with it.

Since that appointment, I have had several more testosterone tests. My level stays at a normal or high-normal (430-520 ng/dl). My blood profile (the high red blood cells) has remained within the normal limits. I attribute this to the fact that I’m no longer supplementing with testosterone injections. I feel great, I have energy, my weight is down a few pounds and I still really enjoy it when I poop! I’m not necessarily saying that Acai is responsible for all this, but I’m not saying that it isn’t either!

I still see both doctors once in a while just to keep an eye on things. If things start to revert back to the way they were, I want to be able to catch it early you know? I’ll tell you though, I’ve had several blood tests over the past many months and so far, everything is perfect!

If you think you might have low testosterone, you might consider going to a doctor to get it checked out. A lot of “old-school” doctors are of the opinion that low testosterone is just part of growing old and they aren’t comfortable prescribing testosterone. You probably should look for an Endocrinologist or an anti-aging doctor – someone who specializes in hormone replacement therapy.

It’s important to note that I use only pure Acai Berry. Never any of the products that combine Acai with other supplements.

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